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(USGovernment-News.Com, April 01, 2013 ) San Francisco, CA -- Many can attest they have heard that Seattle is a great place to get sick, due to hospitals being so good; however, according to the latest in Consumer Reports studies, it may not be as great as formerly considered.
The question is, does the old concept still stand as truth?
The top-3 regional hospitals in the U.S. News and World Reports put on its list could not even make it into the top-10 in the Consumer Reports of Washington hospitals. According to the statistics Consumer Reports utilized, UW Medical Center managed only 13 on the list of safest within the state. The hospitals also only scored 55 of 100 when safety was concerned.
The Northwest Hospital ranked 17, while Harborview was 26, and Virginia Mason 27. Swedish did not even hit the top-30. All the hospitals are those that routinely get higher marks from patients and national organizations for their quality care.
Here is the criteria that the publication utilized to make its list: Whether or not ICU patients developed infections from catheters, patients having to be re-admitted, and whether drugs were explained to patients, as well as if they have electronic records.
The list is clearly not the most in-depth, however, Dr. John Santa stated that the list is meant simply to highlight that hospitals make mistakes and the public must be aware of such a fact.
"Most of us go to hospitals in order to get better," he said. "We don't really think that we could get worse. Sad to say, hundreds of thousands of Americans are injured in hospitals every year."
This study, however, did not look at those injury numbers in making its rankings. "One of the country's experts on hospital safety suspects that deaths from hospital care may be the third leading cause of death in the country," Dr. Santa said.
About Consumer Injuries:
Consumer Injuries (http://www.consumerinjuries.com/) provides information regarding actions that can be taken following afflictions following consumable items or services. Find out where to get the help you need today at the Consumer Injuries website.
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